BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Wine Temperature for Tawny Port

We're discussing port temperatures for serving in another forum I belong to. The consensus is that vintage ports taste best around 65F. So far so good.

But it appears that there's a cultural divide for tawny ports. Apparently the British like them 'warm', around 65F as well. This would give a tawny a pretty alcoholy flavor since it's relatively on the light side. The Portuguese enjoy their tawny port chilled - at around 55F. At that temperature the tawny would be far less alcholy, and more fruity flavored.

I'm a huge port fan and like my tawny port on the cool side, but I don't know that it's down at 55F. Maybe it's more in the 58-60 range. I'm currently all out but I'll get some in the coming week and see.

What temperature do you like your tawny port at, and what country did you grow up in? The theory is that this has to do with the food types you had growing up, because that process affects a lot of the way your palate reacts to different flavors.

I like to serve my tawny port (usually 20 year old) at room temperature - maybe 65F or even a bit warmer, however I do NOT warm tawny port.

For other ports (not tawny) but other vintage ports, I decant and let breathe for 24 hours....it's worth it! I have also seen the neck, in the case of old vintages where the cork is so old and moist as to potentially disintegrate and possibly contaminate the port. Iron tongs and ice were used to crack the stem. Ice is used to cool the neck of the bottle while the fire-heated iron tongs are placed around the neck of the bottle causing the bottle neck to snap and fracture separating the bottle neck with cork intact from the bottle. This was done in a very "posh" restaurant as we completed our meal with fruits and cheeses (particularly good with bleu cheese!)

I was born in the U.S. Raised from 10 years old to 18 in Europe (Italy, Britain, Spain) and Central America. My parents are first-generation Europeans.

Ah, I love port. I like to serve my tawny around 60F for an older port. A younger tawny will be served about 55F.

We recently shared an excellent 75 year old port with some friends. It was wonderful.

Maybe I'll have to do a port tasting with tawnies and try it at different temperatures - maybe cooler would be better! It's funny, one of the British guys that defended the higher temperature said you have to have that alcohol flavor, otherwise you could drink too much <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> An interesting means of self control ...

I don't like stilton cheese but am trying to train myself to like it, since everyone says its the perfect pairing with port. I really like the chocolate-port pairing, especially Godiva chocolate, but that can cause you to turn into a beach ball after a while <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Stilton is an excellent paring. Do you eat blue cheese at all? If you're trying to ease into it there are some spreadable blue cheeses that can help. Like spreadable brie. Think of it as cheese with training wheels. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Most of you agree on the serving temperature for vintage ports. And we agree too!
Now, port must be considered as a true tasty wine and regarded as such. To make it simple, as for any wine, you should first look upon its age, structure and type (colour). The older and well structured the wine the higher the temperature...within the limits of its type.
Vintage port that has been elaborated with grapes from a vintage year -and not every year is declared a vintage year in the Douro region-, is usually matured for a minimum of 10 years in the bottle after a 2,5 year aging in the barrel.
Tawny port is basically a blend aged in wooden barrel where it loses strength and colour through oxidation and reduction processes. Many styles exist in Tawny ports and the amateur should be very careful in choosing. From Reserve without indication of age or Tawny with indication of age to Colheitas (Tawny from a single vintage), this is an open range.
Of course, you don't want cheapest Tawnies made from a blend of red and white grapes. Amateurs should avoid Ruby port as well.
A white port is made from white grapes. It can be dry or sweet. When aged, its colour can come to amber or brownish shades, making it hard to tell from a red port.
That leads us to temperatures:
- Vintage Ports: 65-66�
- Tawny Ports: 57-60� according to type
- White ports: 52-55� according to type
In France, people drink red port as an aperitif. This is defective. Connoisseurs prefer a dry white port and they drink a Vintage Port with bleu (or stilton-like) cheeses or with chocolate.
Port wines must be given the same attention as other wines. They are better appreciated when stored in proper conditions in a basement cellar or a wine cabinet.

In the chart, as a reminder for Port and many other wines and varietals, we indicate the best drinking temperatures. This is only a guideline�you should stick to!

And don't forget that storage and preservation is a critical issue as long as wine is the core of the matter!

As a newcomer on the site, let me introduce myself. My name is Martin Malbecq and I am responsible for the Internet Information at Climadiff, the leading wine cellar specialist in France.